Owner: MidWestHorse URL:www.midwesthorse.blogspot.com Join Date: Sat, 31 Mar 2007 10:33:09 -0500 Rating:0 Site Description: A blog written by two women who own and love horses for others who own and love their horses reguardless of discipline. Site statistics:Click here
Mmmm.....Road Kill, It's Whats For Dinner 2007-06-01 11:54:00 Steve and I took a little drive the other evening and came across a few turkey vultures set down to tea. They let us get quite close before they hopped across the road and waited for us to pass so they could go back to dinner. Yummy, road kill !Please visit http://midwesthorse.blogspot.com/index.html
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Unrelated To Horses But ..... 2007-06-07 07:34:00 The baby graduates highschool today. Number 7 of her class. With a decent amount in scholarship money and a fantastic future!! I'm so proud of her. Headin' off to Missouri for higher education. Congradulations Zoe!Please visit http://midwesthorse.blogspot.com/index.html
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, Horses
Stormy Night 2007-06-08 20:44:00 Well last night our place was shakin'. A line of storms came through. We were under a tornado watch all afternoon until midnight and at just about 10:30 pm, the storm hit. Steve and I had taken Zoe for a late dinner after graduation and we got home about 9:30 pm. I went out to the girls and removed their fly masks and the wind had been kickin' up all day. They were nervous. We were about to crawl into bed at about 10:30 and suddenly the house shook and Steve looked outside and all I heard was, "Holy crap, turn off the computers!!" Me, already in just a t-shirt and underwear looked out the window and then ran to the computers. The rain was a complete sheet of white at a right angle. The trees as well. I scrambled for my boots and jeans. Steve was already downstairs and Zoe too. Spot, the border collie was hiding in my closet and the other dogs and cats were under our feet. Now, mind you, we live in a converted barn. This place is over 100 years old and post and beam. No nails. It w Read more:Night
2007-06-07 07:33:00 Please visit http://midwesthorse.blogspot.com/index.html
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Fun For All 2007-06-13 00:32:00 My boyfriends friends are having a trail ride. I am only publishing it because this is the first time I've seen one offering a fishing tournament. Imagine Callie, you can ride and your dear husband Steve can fish! Even if you have non-riding kids they can come along and find somethiing of interest. Talk about family fun! Functions like this are affordable and fun.Please visit http://midwesthorse.blogspot.com/index.html
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Ode de' Equine 2007-06-12 20:08:00 I think it was last Friday and Steve and I were out running errands. I was telling Steve that I still had half a loafing shed to shovel. I also mentioned that I don't mind the smell of horse manure. He shook his head at me and said that I was weird. Now I retorted that I believe that there isn't a true horse person out there in the world that doesn't mind the smell of horse poop or might even like it. And the smell of a horse. When I'm out doing anything with my horses, I always bury my face in their neck and take a deep breath in. I love the smell of horses. To me, there's nothing else like it. Now Steve suggested that I write a post about it and just see how many of you out there like the smell of a horse and all that goes with it. So what do you all say?Please visit http://midwesthorse.blogspot.com/index.html
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Worried About Miss Misty 2007-06-12 17:19:00 How I love this mare. I haven't ridden her since last fall. Every time that I thought I may have had the time, it's been raining or something else needed to be done, Zoe's end of school year, cleaning up from storms and working full time night shift. Anyway, I finally made the time and it was Sunday, Zoe's graduation party and bunches of kids and young adults around. Initially I thought I would bring Misty
out for pony rides, but the girls were so freaked out by all the action, I thought well, maybe not because I didn't want anyone to get hurt. The girls did finally settle in and I thought, I'll saddle her up and lead her while the little kids sit on. This horse is so amazing, she just went along with it all, saddle adjustments, noisy toddlers and adults that had no idea how to ride, just short jaunts around the ring and finally me to correct all that may have been misinterpreted by from other riders. What an angel! Now the next day, Monday, of course when I'm ready for work ,
Here We Go Again 2007-06-16 15:50:00 Not to keep beating a dead horse, so to speak, but I'm down right mad. I recently found myself discovering new horse blogs and ran across one that is for saving all horses and had a post about the American horse slaughter issue. Now what pissed me off is that after I commented on it. The webmaster retorted for me state sources and such claiming that my opinion was in the minority because she/he had horse owner friends over here and none of them share the same opinion.1) You're friends because you share the same opinion.2) All of us, opposed or for horse slaughter will find viable reasons and facts on both sides to support our opinions.3) Our cultures, although both western are vastly different. ( And I'm talking about British horse ownership comparably to American horse ownership) and I can say that I'm relatively confident knowing such because I am married to a Brit.I just believe that a person who doesn't live over here really needs a few facts or at least look at cultural diffe Read more:Again
Who Says Horses Don't Have Personality ! 2007-06-13 21:39:00 What is your horse's personality ? Misty is quiet and sweet, very layed back. Not much bothers her. I know she is probably one of the horses that would prefer no herd and would rather just be with me. She gets jealous if I give any attention to Kola. I have to stand between them and divvy it out equally. Now Kola is sweet, but more of a character and really enjoys talking and you talking to her. She never misses a thing and is quite curious, however gets concerned over the big scary cats and vocalizes that with snorts and nostril language. I had a gelding, Dakota, who was more of a class clown. He liked to play tricks and steal hair clips from my head or pluck a watch off my wrist and dance in the water. I almost forgot Mr. Personality
himself and that would be Chlorox, the little white Shetland pony. Talk about a devilish personality, a virtual Houdini, selective on just who he liked and who he would allow to catch him and so much of his life revolved around food. So what's your hor Read more:Horses
CASH 2007-06-19 23:19:00 This handsome little guy is "Cash". The former owner of the mare asked me if I wanted to sell this one. I joked with my boyfriend that it would take a lot of cash to buy this one and that's how he was named. His mama is 24 years old and I was delirious when she had him. She loves him dearly and so does his Aunt Holly. She is a crippled 16 year old mare. Her and Lady have been together for years. My boyfriend caught Cash tonight and he sounded like a puppy crying. I never heard a horse sound like that before. I fell in love with him right then. He ran to nurse when he was set free and he reached under the wrong mare, she really jumped. The other babies really don't know what to think of him. I don't think they like his light color. A much wiser horse friend of mine told me that in the wild they attract predators and are shunned. It kinda makes sense. He always has the dogs to chase.Please visit http://midwesthorse.blogspot.com/index.html
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Feeding Frenzy 2007-06-19 19:12:00 Now if you look closely at my outdoors family, you'll clearly see that none of them are underweight. This is what happens when I ring the dinner bell. The girls come barreling in from the overgrazed pasture and the goats (the boys) go mad as I walk towards them with a flake of hay. Everyone gets breakfast as well mind you and clearly none of them are starving. They just crack me up. I know they're all thinking, "Hurry up, you jerk, we've been waiting all day for dinner!" "It's hard work milling about the pasture and lounging in the straw!"Please visit http://midwesthorse.blogspot.com/index.html
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Speaking Of Insects 2007-06-19 15:24:00 Look at this little creature, or should I say rather large insect in the realm of insects. They emerged here in southern Wisconsin about three weeks ago after spending 17 years as a larvae underground eating roots. There's masses in the Chicago area and I don't have any here but just about 7 miles straight south in Lake Geneva there's tons. The 17 year cicada. Annoying but harmless and from what I understand rather tasty. Kind of almond like. Eeewwww! They make an erie sound and in unison too. They're cool looking in their own right with red beady eyes. I guess they're an Eastern thing. I find them fascinating. And when I say masses, I'm talking every square inch. They're about done now. They'll mate and lay their eggs and the larvae will stay underground for another 17 years. Why ? They must have been around for more than centuries. I wonder if there's any cicada fossils. Please visit http://midwesthorse.blogspot.com/index.html
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, Insects
I Hate Flies ! 2007-06-17 09:46:00 'Tis the season for nasty, biting horse flies. Just this Friday, I had Jeremiah here to trim feet and recently it has been stifling hot, sticky weather which brings on the flies even more. Now I have some poop that still needs shoveling but in the grand scheme of things it's not bad by any means. During the day, the girls' fly masks go on and I spray their legs. Jeremiah suggested I get this mineral block that the horses lick and it retards the growth of flies in their poop. He said since he's started it with his horses, there isn't a fly in sight. I cannot remember the name of it, but he assured me that I could get one at TSC or Farm n' Fleet. Has anyone out there tried this ? And has it been successful ? How do you control flies ? What works best at your barn ? Let me know.Please visit http://midwesthorse.blogspot.com/index.html
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Courage and Conviction 2007-06-17 09:22:00 This post as titled is about conviction and courage. The blogger sphere is to allow us to express our views on particular subjects and to allow and encourage others who have the same or differing opinions to comment on those views while still keeping respectful of the persons blog you are commenting to.As you all know and have seen I allow comments with opposing views to be published and viewed by all.I made a comment on another bloggers blog disagreeing with their view. They asked me to site sources, which I did in the form of another comment. And last night I thought my they had posted it for all to see (I was logged in at the time) but when I revisited the site not logged in at the time, I find that my additional comments are only shown to me.To me this shows although they have great convictions, they do not have the courage to be willing to argue their case and will only show any comments that appear in their favor.If you have the conviction then have the courage to follow up.This Read more:Conviction
Breakfast in Bed? 2007-06-26 19:27:00 Would this be considered breakfast in bed? Cash has no problem nursing when Lady doesn't want to get up. I let them out to play lawnmowers and she decided to take a nap. I just started her on EquiPride. It is supposed to help horses with hoof issues. I figure it is worth a try, it is supposed to help keep wight on too. Since she is 24, she needs all the help I can give her. Her mom lived to be almost 30 and had babies into her late 20's. I am truly happy with Cash, he was a special bonus.Please visit http://midwesthorse.blogspot.com/index.html
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How Do You Manage Your Water ? 2007-06-26 09:26:00 Mmmmmm.......Cool, clean, water. How do you manage your horses' water? I personally don't have an automatic waterer. As much as I would love one, I just haven't manged to install one, so instead this is what I do. I clean my troughs at least once a week, and when I do that I use bleach. I scrub with a stiff scrub brush and a few cups of bleach mixed with some water and rinse well. Once I've done that and rinsed, as I refill the trough, I add about 3/4 cup bleach to 100 gallons of water. It really makes it no different than chlorinated city water. 1/2 cup bleach to my 75 gallon trough. I do this because I have well water and this helps to retard the growth of algae which is not good for your horses. Now, I've never had a horse refuse the water and it seems to help allot. Now another thing that I've noticed in doing this, is that when I do have a muddy area in the paddock where in the spring and fall the horses are more often, I've not had hoof thrush. I think that's because this Read more:Manage
Roxanne and Max 2007-06-25 00:27:00 Roxanne is my boyfriend Gerald's filly. She is half sister to Cash. She is real small and super athletic. She would love to get out and chase after my healer Max. I will probably end up with her because she may be to small for Gerald. She should make a real good cutter. She also has Two Eyed Jack in her bloodlines. What really attracted my attention to her mama is that she is a Docs Lynx granddaughter. He died at a young age and didn't have a lot of foals out there.Please visit http://midwesthorse.blogspot.com/index.html
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Dedication To George 2007-06-29 22:26:00 Old George
, the ferret, passed away today peacefully in his sleep. I've had George since 2000 and he was 2 to 3 years old when he came to live with us, so that made him quite an old ferret. I knew he was nearing the end as he had lost weight in spite of our efforts to soften his food so that he could eat easier. He curled up in the corner of his cage and closed his eyes. So "Cheers" to George, a rather entertaining and cuddly little creature with a personality of his own and sweet little ferret kisses. We'll meet again someday.Please visit http://midwesthorse.blogspot.com/index.html
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Good Riding Day 2007-07-03 18:20:00 I've needed to get on Kola and ride her since I purchased her last September. My plan was to let her take the fall and winter to get used to me and her new surroundings. I did not do that with Junior last Spring and amongst other things, I ended up with a trip to the E.R. and a month recovering, not to mention still shaken confidence. Misty, pictured here is my confidence booster. She's the best horse anyone could ever ask for. I'm hoping that Kola will be the same. Anyway, after lawn and yard work all morning to afternoon, my plan was to ride Misty and then give Kola a try. I had my husband come out with me. I've not been on Kola since the test drive where I bought her. Needless to say, although they may be baby steps, I feel great. I first rode Misty and then had my husband hold Kola while I saddled her. She was fine. Because of my shaken confidence, I must admit I was concerned about getting on her with my little husband holding her. He wasn't sure he could handle her on the gr Read more:Riding
Random Animal Weirdness! 2007-07-02 16:57:00 Are our creatures a reflection of ourselves? Every creature in this household is just plain weird. Does anyone else experience this? My horses have their odd moments, Kola playing with hoof trimmings. Misty needing her puddling pool. Spot, the border collie having his morning cup of joe and this little kitten, blind, extra toes, who has to share whatever food I may be eating including Honeydew melon, fresh peaches, and now I just had to share my Edie's strawberry fruit and juice bar. They seem to all have very strange quirks. Is this my fault? The weirdness even goes so far as to reach my fish. I have only one Oscar, whose name, by the way is Oscar, but he is strange as well, watches me and my every move and follows me in his tank as far as he can go until he knocks himself out hitting the side of the tank too hard. It's weird! Does this mean I'm weird?Please visit http://midwesthorse.blogspot.com/index.html
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, Animal
, Weirdness
Comment to Comments 2007-07-06 21:56:00 Kola is an absolute angel. A horse I can trust, who must trust me. All is progressing well. And on animal weirdness, I now feel that I must take my little digital camera to the bath with me as this morning when I emerged from my bubbles after wetting my hair in this big old clawfoot tub, I was greeted by Spot, the border collie, with his head hung over the edge intensely watching the bubbles and water, waiting for me to squirt a fountain towards him with my hand. His pupils were as big as saucers. And Lilyput, the nearly blind 24 toed cat, stretched up to the tub, paws hung over the side, trying to swipe at the bubbles. Both of them at the same time. I have no privacy.........Please visit http://midwesthorse.blogspot.com/index.html
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, Comments
Sea Horse? 2007-07-15 08:34:00 Speaking of Sea World and perhaps Sea Horse
s, this is one or rather a Sea Dragon, which resembles a Sea Horse. Cool.... isn't she.Please visit http://midwesthorse.blogspot.com/index.html
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Sea World? 2007-07-14 18:13:00 Only a horse person would be able to seek out the horse at a water park dedicated to sea creatures. We were in Orlando this past week on vacation and my family has just learned to go along with me when I get on a mission over horses. This was taken at Sea World
where they keep a few Budweiser Clydesdales. This is Kelly, a seven year old gelding that they obviously use for just this purpose. He is a sweet boy and very well mannered and I forced my husband into the pic with me. I also found a place called Horse World in Kissimmee, but my family wouldn't give into that. I'll have to check that out next time we go to Florida.Please visit http://midwesthorse.blogspot.com/index.html
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What are you in for? 2007-07-14 00:33:00 Roxanne is the youngest and she is a little on the small side so she suffers from small horse syndrome. I had to put her and her mother in a separate pen because she didn't want to play with the other babies, she wanted to just kick and bite them. She would run up and down the fence with them and pin back her ears when they tried to get too close. After about a month I moved them in with the other two mares and babies. I took all of them and moved them to a new larger pen so no one would try to defend their territory. I find that easier then to move a horse into a established pen. They are all so busy checking out the new area they don't target the new horse. It also helps to have them close together for a while as neighbors before turning them out together. I find they don't challenge as much and more less settle into a pecking order without too much kicking and chasing. Roxanne would even challenge the person feeding, we corrected her like her mama would. She is finally getting a
How Do You Buy Your Hay? 2007-07-17 22:09:00 What's your feeding regimen? Right now, I feed a 30/70 mix of alfalfa/grass. It costs me $3.50 a bale and they each get a flake in the morning and 3 flakes to split between them at night with just a taste of 11% sweet feed in the morning(about a half of scoop each). During the winter months I sometimes up the hay for them. Jess pays a bit less for hay and has a much bigger place for storage. I have a small shed and can pack in about 60 bales at a time in there. And often do a self serve 10 to 20 bales at a time or I'll have it delivered. The new stuff I recently got is a 2nd cutting. One thing I've found that I need to go back to is putting a palate down to stack on even though the shed has a good floor, I probably lose about 12 bales a year to mold. I buy when I need, which is probably not the best practice, however storage is a problem for me. Not to mention parting with the chunk of change it would be to buy 250 bales at once. I know in the long run that would be the wiser way to
Loakco 2007-07-16 22:23:00 This is my favorite baby. Not only is he out of my best mare, he is built right and a bay to boot. He is out of my friends stallion Skyco. He was showing until an injury forced him into the breeding shed. I really don't think he minds. He has a double stall and gets turned out. Sure beats getting hauled thousands of miles a year. I had a colt out of Stacy by Sky that my friend Sue bought, his name is Oakco. She isn't overly fond of my name choice for this one, I like it. He doesn't act loco and I plan on keeping him. His half sister is going to futurity this year and hopefully Oakco will go next year.Please visit http://midwesthorse.blogspot.com/index.html
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Who Needs a Gym?!? 2007-07-18 20:48:00 This is how I do my hay. Gerald keeps track of what is up there. I would guess between 900 and 1000 bales. It was just the 2 of us for about half of it. Second cutting is done and I will put third cutting in different areas in my other barns. I like to put up around 1500 to 1800 bales. I'd rather have too much then too little. I have some of last years first cutting left, the cows will probably get that. It is cheaper buying it off the field. Hay fields were plowed under this year for corn. I am a little concerned that there may be a hay shortage this winter. With the flooding and wild fires that ravaged the different parts of the country we may see semi loads leaving the Midwest. Don't worry Callie, I will have extra if you need it. That's what friends are for.Please visit http://midwesthorse.blogspot.com/index.html
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Most Valuable Farm Hand 2007-07-23 23:23:00 I would be lost without my wheelbarrels. I have 2 that have held up pretty well for the last 6 or 7 years. They do not get left out in the rain or sun. I have had to put a new stand on my black one and this one needs new supports on the front. I only have 4.5 acres that usually have at least 20 horses housed in the barns and pastures. It is so much easier to feed with them rather then something with a motor. I Gator would be nice, the gates would be a pain. Of course all the horses think the hay in the barrel is better. They follow me to the gate then go back to the feeders. I have 23 stalls that are usually full in the winter. My friends use them for their horses in training. My horses stay outside, they would rather be out then in a stall. I have run ins for them and they only use them in severe weather. I keep blankets on the show horses and broodmares. When the snow gets to deep I switch to a sled. What's your favorite farm hand? Significant others don't count!Please visit http
The Peeps 2007-07-27 12:43:00 I call these little fellows the "Peeps
" . I've felt obligated to leave a garage door open now this spring and summer because a pair of barn swallows had moved in and here are their offspring, the peeps. They're so tiny and brand new. Every time I walk into the garage and talk to them, their little heads peek over the nest and their mouths are wide open.Please visit http://midwesthorse.blogspot.com/index.html
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Yummy! 2007-07-26 18:30:00 Misty and Kola enjoyed their yellow meat watermelon treat this evening. I had read somewhere that horses like watermelon and in small amounts it's ok for them to eat. I had bought a yellow meat watermelon a couple of days ago not realizing what it was. I can't get past the yellow. So I decided to let the horses and goats give it a try. Horses love it. Goats don't. However, the goats do love the peppermint and butterscotch horse treats.Please visit http://midwesthorse.blogspot.com/index.html
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